History of Orissa from the earliest written records can be traced all the way back to 3rd century B.C. Ashoka fought the famous Kalinga war and brought it under Maurya rule. The Chedi emperor Kharvela of Kalinga came to power in second century B.C. He defeated the Mauryas and extended his empire as far as Mathura. The famous Hathigumpha inscription in Udaygiri near Bhubaneshwar describes in detail the war adventures of Kharvela as well as his administration. He was succeeded by the dynasties of Magharas (4th-5th century), Sailodbhavas (6th-8th century), Bhoumakaras and Somavamsis (8th-llth century). Later Gangas emerged as a major power in Southern Orissa in the eleventh century. In this period remarkable development in Orissa`s economy, society and culture took place. Their contribution to Oriya art especially, to the development of Odissi dance and Odissi music was disproportionately great compared to the contribution of other dynasties. Turko-Afghans conquered Orissa in 1590. According to historians the political decline started in Orissa from the time of the Muslim rule. British finally conquered Orissa in 1803.

Ancient History of Orissa
According to the ancient history of Orissa, the state was also known as Utkal and Odra. In fact during the rule of the Aryans the kingdom of Kalinga was a name to reckon with. The reference to this kingdom is quite frequent in Mahabharata as well. The ancient political history begins with the rulers of the Nanda dynasty. It was Chandragupta Maurya who captured the Nanda kings throne and thus the Mauryan reign commenced. However it is the Kalinga War that has been immortalised in the history of India. The sudden transformation of Ashoka from a power-hungry emperor to a Buddhist monk is an unforgettable tale. Post-Ashoka, the history of Orissa mentions a number of ruling dynasties, such as, the Kharavelas, Guptas, Satavahanas, Eastern Gangas, Nalas, Parvatadvarakas, Durjayas, Sailodbhavas and others. During the medieval times the Marathas and the Mughals ruled over the kingdom of Orissa.

Medieval History of Orissa
The Muslim rulers occupied the state in 1576. It was not before 1751 that the Maratha rule was established in Orissa. As far as religion is considered a major change was noticed post Kalinga War. Ashoka adopted Buddhism and inspired others to do the same. After the Kharavela kings were Jains. Hence even Jainism had an impact on the religious faith of the masses. However there are several temples in Orissa dedicated to Hindu deities that had been built by Hindu kings. Of these the most popular temple is the Jagannath Temple, Puri.

In 1803 Orissa once again witnessed transfer of powers when the British captured it from the Marathas in the Second Anglo-Maratha war. The British East India Company then divided the state of Orissa into three districts: Cuttack, Puri and Balasore. Initially the coastal area of Orissa was separated from Bengal and later in 1936 it was separated from Bihar. Time and again the people of Orissa had revolted against the British imperialism. The Paik Rebellion of 1817 was a revolt against the British land revenue system. The great famine broke out in 1866 and its effects were felt across the state.

Modern History of Orissa
The modern history of Orissa and the subsequent Freedom Movement links Orissa to the general history of India. Like the rest of the country there had been a mass participation in the Swadeshi Movement, Non Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement and others. Freedom fighters, such as, Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, Harekrushna Mahtab, Nabakrushna Choudhury, Bagirathi Mahapatra, Gopabandhu Choudhury, Lingaraj Misra, Surendra Nath Das and others were instrumental in Orissa`s freedom struggle against the British.

Several socio-political reforms were undertaken by people, like, Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das to improve the condition of the people. After a long period of struggle the state of Orissa finally gained its liberty when India was declared independence on 15th august, 1947. Post-Independence several attempts were made to reorganise the state as several areas were independently ruled by tribal chiefs. Many regions of Orissa were lying in different neighbouring states. Most of those regions were amalgamated with Orissa and a separate state of Orissa was born on 1st April 1936. It may be mentioned that Orissa was the first Indian state formed on linguistic basis.